How It Ends
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: Thirty years later, Tony looks back on his life with Ziva as her life draws to an end. Contains major character death. *Complete*
1. Note

_**Hi Everyone,**_

_**I just wanted to say something before I start this story.**_

_**Last November my family lost a very close family friend to liver cancer, she had fought it for thirteen years, as long as I have known her. I was with her and her family until shortly before her death, and it has been very hard on me. I have used this story to help me process her death and my grief.**_

_**Thanks for listening, I hope you like this story.**_

_**xx Hannah xx**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has anything to do with NCIS or the characters, unless you count the DVDs. This is just for fun.**_

_**I hope you enjoy this fic**_

* * *

**3****rd**** of October 2039**

It was early in the morning, just before sunrise, and retired NCIS special agent Anthony DiNozzo was sitting at his wife's bedside, holding her hand as she dozed.

Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David had been together for just over twenty-eight years, married for twenty-seven, they had three children, all now grown up.

The eldest child was Benjamin, twenty-five years old, living in New York City with his girlfriend, Katie Shields, a young legal receptionist. Ben was at NYU studying medicine, he had eighteen months left before he would be a fully trained, licensed doctor.

In stark contrast to her older brother was their middle child, Susanna, twenty-three years old, and living just streets from her older brother in New York. Together with her partner, Andrew Kingston, they had a seven year old son, Michael, whom she stayed home to look after while Drew went out to his low-wage factory job, the only way they kept a roof over their heads and food on their plates.

And finally there was Miriam, the baby of the family, just twenty years old, and living on campus at Georgetown University, not too far from their family home, studying law.

Nineteen of those years they had been married had been very happy, then Ziva had started feeling ill, she wanted to ignore it, but Tony had insisted on taking her to the doctor. Tony and Ziva were to meet with Miriam at a cafe just off university campus for lunch after their appointment, but that went out the window when their family doctor, the same doctor who had told the then young couple that they were pregnant, sympathetically told her and her loving husband that she had cancer, liver cancer, and that she wasn't expected to live to see new years, in six months.

It had been a miracle that she had been with them for as long as she had been, a miracle of modern medicine that is.

Five clinical trials.

Twelve operations.

Thirty-two different chemotherapeutic regimens.

Four hundred and twenty-three weeks living with cancer.

Until eight months ago the multitude of treatments had been for the most part working, and then something changed, she started getting sicker, the cancer was spreading, growing, and in a matter of weeks, Ziva went from being an active woman, a federal agent, to a weak, almost bedridden individual, dependant on her husband for even the most simple of things.

Tony was still somewhat in denial of what was happening, watching his wife fading away right in front of him, it was too much to bear.

Seeing his wife dying was truly devastating, and there was nothing he could do to save her life.

Of course everyone did what they could to help, to support the couple, support Tony, but things had changed over the years. Their closest friends, the people they had entrusted their lives with while working for NCIS were now much fewer. Retired NIS agent Mike Franks, Gibbs' mentor had passed away in Mexico several years before at age eighty-four, so had Dr Donald "Ducky" Mallard, nearly ten years earlier in the hospital, eighty-three year old Jethro Gibbs was living much to his frustration in an assisted care facility after suffering a stroke last year that had left him paralysed on the left side of his body, last anyone had heard Eli David, Ziva's father was still alive, living in Israel, but he hadn't so much as spoken to his daughter for eight years, Timothy McGee had lost his life over twenty years ago in the line of duty, shot dead while pursuing a suspect, and finally Abigail Sciuto, Ziva's closest friend within NCIS was still there, considerably slowed down, but still a bright and bubbly, and gothic, as ever, but with a deep sense of pain underlying her being, losing her husband had hit her hard.

**

* * *

****th**** of June 2017**

20

It was late on a Friday afternoon; they were planning to go out for drinks that night. Tony and McGee were chasing down a suspect, a young marine accused of betraying the core and his country by selling secrets to the highest bidder. They had chased him through the laneways and back roads of DC for over ten minutes when they finally reached a dead end, the suspect was trapped with no way out, Tony was shouting at him, ordering him to drop his weapon, while he had two guns trained on him. This guy was bad news, but Tony had never expected what happened next.

Before either Tony or McGee could react, the marine fired his weapon, and then in a heartbeat McGee was on the ground, blood seeping out of a hole in his chest.

On reflex Tony put two rounds through the shooter's heart before dropping to his knees beside Tim, he pulled off his suit coat, and pushed it down on the bleeding wound in his friend's chest as he pleaded, "It's not so bad, McGeek, barely a graze, you're going to be fine. Stay with me, please just stay awake Tim, come on, don't make me tell Abby you're not coming home."

He dialled Gibbs' number into his phone with his free hand as he kept the pressure on his friend's chest, ignoring his nausea at the feeling of blood seeping though the coat into his hand.

"Help's on the way, Tim, just-" In that instant he knew that his friend had died, the blood stopped flowing, his gasping breaths stopped, he was gone.

* * *

Telling a family that their loved one was never coming home was never easy, but when you knew the person, when you could still feel the blood of your friend on your hands no matter how hard you scrubbed, words cannot describe it.

Tony had left Tim with Ducky, and headed back to NCIS, still covered in blood, he had stopped at his desk just long enough to grab a change of clothes, which he pulled on, throwing away his blood soaked clothes into an evidence bag, before taking the elevator downstairs to the lab, to deliver the devastating news.

Abby had turned around from where she was working, revealing her very pregnant stomach. Instantly she knew something was wrong, Tony had simply sat here down on the nearby sofa, and told her, "I'm sorry, Abby, Tim's dead."

**

* * *

**

Present Time

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts, and fought down his heartache at the memory of Abby's devastated reaction to the news that the father of her unborn child was never coming home.

He would never forget that moment, but now wasn't the time to wallow in his memories, now was time to be with his wife, to comfort her as she slipped further away.

Looking at her, lying in their bed, resting even if only for a short while, Tony thought back a long time, to when he had finally given in to the connection between himself and Ziva, realising just how much his long time partner meant to him.

**

* * *

****nd**** of January 2011**

2

It was the day after new years day and the team had only been back from their longest holiday in years, two weeks, for a matter of minutes before they were assigned a case, and they quickly found themselves at a crime scene, processing a mountain of evidence.

McGee had been delegated to collect witness statements, while Ziva and Tony collected evidence, it was undeniable that in the past months their relationship had grown to be more than a professional one, if it ever was, but they hadn't made it by any means official. That was until, just as they were getting ready to head back to NCIS, when Tony subtly pulled Ziva around the side of the van, to kiss her, a deep passion filled kiss, but it only lasted a moment before Ziva pulled away.

"What are we doing, Tony?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Tony replied in a seductively sarcastic tone, pressing himself against Ziva.

Ziva didn't reject his advances, but she didn't encourage him either. "I do not want to just be the girl you sleep with when you feel like it. Tony, I was to be with you, forever."

That stopped Tony in his tracks. "What're you saying?"

Ziva took Tony's hands in hers. "I am in love with you, Anthony DiNozzo. I want to be with you."

"...I-" Tony began.

"Marry me, Tony. I love you, and I want to be with you forever."

Tony was stunned, but it was no secret that he was in love with the beautiful Israeli woman standing before him, and he had been for a long time. "Oh wow, Ziva," He murmured in shock, "You do know that the man is supposed to propose, right?"

"You were taking too long," Ziva replied with a laugh, before asking, "Is that a yes?"

"I think it is," Tony said as he pulled Ziva into his arms, completely ignoring the fact that Gibbs and McGee had come to investigate what was taking so long, and were now standing not far from them, stunned, but happy.

* * *

The wedding was just over eighteen months later, it was a classic ceremony, held on a luxuriant property just outside of town, their family and friends had come from near and far to watch the couple be married.

* * *

**Present Time**

As time drew closer, Tony called Ziva's father, whom while being absent for the last twenty-five years, since Ben's birth, was on the first plane out.

He wouldn't arrive in time.

Tony thought back to the last time he'd seen his father-in-law, the day his son was born.

**

* * *

**

12

**th**** of January 2015**

Ziva had been in labour for just over twenty hours, and by now cursed and threatened Tony in nine languages, when the doctor finally gave her consent to push, and push she did, for two hours, her grip on Tony's hand had had him convinced that she was going to break it. But then, the baby was out, and Tony looked down at his wife and their newborn child in awe as the doctor joyfully announced, "It's a boy. Congratulations."

* * *

Tony was still beaming as he carried his newborn son out to the waiting room to meet their friends, he rounded the corner into the waiting room, Tony saw Gibbs and Abby, then Tim and Ducky, and then finally much to his surprise, Eli David sitting in the corner of the room.

However Tony was given no chance to consider this, as Tony quickly found himself being practically smothered by Abby, and to a lesser degree everyone else, with the exception of Eli David, who was hanging back.

"He's so cute, Tony," Abby cooed, looking down at the tiny infant, swaddled in a pale blue blanket. "He looks just like you and Ziva."

"Strange thing about that, Abs."

**

* * *

**

Present time

Though it was many years ago now, Tony still remembered the day he and Ziva had first met with the oncologist with absolute clarity, and the horrifying advice he had given them.

**

* * *

****th**** of June 2030**

5

Tony and Ziva DiNozzo were still reeling; they had only gotten the news the previous day. Ziva had been squeezed in by the specialist, liver cancer could spread fast, so fast that even days could make a big difference, it could be the difference between life and death.

The oncologist was just months from retirement, he had seen hundreds of families go through the devastating diagnosis of cancer, the months, sometimes years of treatment, even then, still he had watched dozens of his patients die.

As Tony and Ziva sat opposite the doctor, Tony balancing their then eleven year old daughter, Miriam on his knee, they listened to the doctor talk about prognosis' and palliative treatments.

Then the doctor somewhat stunned them by saying, "Go somewhere, your favourite place, and enjoy the time you have left."

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_


	3. Chapter 2

_****_

Disclaimer: I own nothing that has anything to do with NCIS or the characters, unless you count the DVDs. This is just for fun.

_**Thank you for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this fic**_

* * *

**Present time**

After hearing that advice, Tony and Ziva left, furious with the doctor, unable to even think that Ziva wouldn't survive this illness.

They had sought out another doctor, well known for pursuing aggressive treatments, Dr James Lawson, he had been literally a life-saver, and had bought them precious years.

**

* * *

****20th**** of June 2030**

This time they had left the children with Abby, they shouldn't have to hear all this. Dr Lawson's attitude was so different to the last doctor's, he told them about options, ways to treat the cancer, to try to beat it, buy them time together.

There were standard treatment protocols for stage 3A liver cancer, it had already begun to spread, and Dr Lawson made sure that they understood that Ziva's life was in danger, but then he explained about more radical treatments that he used.

Removing the lobe of her liver where the cancer cells were, trying to get rid of as much of the cancer as they could, in the hope that it would make the chemotherapy more effective.

Radiation treatments used alongside more intensive chemotherapy that would be delivered directly into the liver, specifically targeting the cancer cells, while protecting other healthy cells in the body. Ziva never even lost her hair; it thinned at times, but never fell out completely.

* * *

After that appointment everything happened very quickly, Ziva was admitted to the hospital that day, and was scheduled for surgery the next day.

Tony stayed at the hospital with Ziva around the clock. Between Gibbs and Abby the kids always had somewhere to stay, Ziva didn't want the children to see her unwell, she knew they would, but she wanted to protect them as much as she could, and everyone understood that.

**

* * *

****11th**** of July 2030**

Ziva began chemotherapy just weeks after surgery. She had had a catheter placed into her liver to deliver the chemotherapy when she had been in surgery.

Tony was there with her through the treatment, as the chemotherapeutic drugs ran into her body, as she got sick, throwing up, getting chills, feeling truly terrible.

Tony and Ziva both wondered if they were doing the right thing, putting her through the treatment, but thinking of their family, they knew that Ziva had too much to live for, she was too young for them to let her just die.

**

* * *

**

Present time

If it wasn't for that doctor, Ziva would have died that year, but as it was, Ziva had eight good years, she and Tony celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary, she'd seen birthdays, all her children's graduations from high school and one from college, the birth of her only grandchild, she was there for Tony when Gibbs suffered a stroke and was left a shadow of his former self.

Tony would be forever grateful to the doctor who had given them those years, but now it was coming to an end, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, prolong it maybe, but that wasn't what she wanted, and he felt obligated to carry out her final wishes.

**

* * *

****8th**** of April 2039**

Ziva and Tony were sitting outside, on the deck at the back of their home, overlooking the swimming pool their kids spent every summer in, the playground where Susie fell and broke her wrist, the lawn that had been set up for many years as a soccer field for Ben.

**

* * *

****10th**** of July 2025**

Ziva and Tony were sitting up on the deck, watching as their kids played in the backyard, it was nearly six in the evening, and most nights they would have gone inside by now. But on this day Ben had had soccer practice at school, and all he wanted to do was practice, he was good, and Ziva and Tony were more than happy to encourage him, Tony had even set up a practice goal with a small trampoline he had tipped up.

While Ben kicked the soccer ball around, Miriam and Susie played in the sandpit, seeing who could build the biggest castle.

* * *

**8****th**** of April 2039**

It felt so much like every time they had sat in this same spot that it hurt. It felt just like when they had sat there watching their children play, but it wasn't the same. Ziva was now using a wheelchair, she could only walk about ten feet, the doctors were prescribing her more and more morphine to control her pain, her liver was being destroyed by the cancer, failing, she was near the end.

Tony wasn't coping, he had taken care of Ziva, managed her illness for nine years, and he couldn't bear the thought that she would die, she would die very soon.

Ziva had come to terms with the reality of her situation, she was ready to die. Of course Ziva wished that things had been different, but they weren't, and she had been sick for a long time, and all she wanted now was to make sure her loved ones would be alright, and then die, for the pain to finally stop, to be at peace.

"There's a program down in Florida, I was reading about it online last night, I called but I only got the answering machine."

"No Tony, no more treatments."

"But it could give you more time, us more time. Please Ziva."

Staring out at the garden, Ziva told Tony, "I want... I want it to be, I do not want it to be any longer, I do not want to live anymore. We have had a good life together, we have three beautiful children, and I love you more than words can say, but I am going to die, and I do not want to be in pain anymore."

Tony knew the pain his wife was suffering, and he understood why she didn't want to keep fighting it, but it didn't make it any easier for him.

The pain was excruciating, exhausting. Some days Ziva didn't get out of bed, it was a rarity that she was outside, sometimes there would be days where she wouldn't even speak.

Ziva took a minute, before she turned her wheelchair to allow herself to face Tony, and in a rare show of emotion, she took his hands, and smiling at him sadly, she said, "I am going to die soon, Tony. You know that, I know that, we have known it was coming for a long time. Please let me go."

Tony was silent for a long time. He loved Ziva, he had been in love with her since the day he met her, and he wasn't ready to let her go, in his heart he knew he never would be, whether it was tomorrow or in thirty years, he would never be ready.

Ziva was the mother of Tony's children, the grandmother of his only grandchild. He hated the idea that his children, as 'grown up' as they may now be, would no longer have their mother.

She was only fifty-seven years old, too young, they were supposed to have so much more time.

It may have been a miracle that she had lived as long as she had, but he wanted longer, he would always want longer.

But now, now was the time to be with his wife, to value the time they had left, to prepare his children, to take care of Ziva, as she had taken care of him, of their children for so many years.

"Okay."

"Thank you. I love you, Tony."

With tears in his eyes, Tony replied, "I love you too, Ziva. I love you."

* * *

Miriam came around that evening to give her father some respite time. She was a loving, sweet girl, who in spite of everything she knew and had seen had kept her child-like innocence.

Being the baby of the family had led to her being very close to her parents, and she was taking her mother's illness hard, but she also felt an obligation to help out as much as she could, that was a large part of her reasoning to attend a local university.

Tony met his youngest daughter warmly, embracing her in a bear hug as she came through the door.

"Hi sweetheart, thanks for coming over. How's everything?"

"Really good, I've got exams coming up, so I have loads of study to do, but that's all good," Miriam brightly told her father, her tone then turned solemn, as she asked, "How's Mom?"

"Not great. She had a good day, but she's tired, she's sleeping in the lounge chair."

Tears began to brim in Miriam's eyes. "What did Dr Lawson say?"

"A couple of months, maybe less. Are you sure you're alright to stay here while I go to see Uncle Jethro?" To this day it still felt awkward to Tony to call Gibbs that, but to the kids that was who he was, Uncle Jethro.

Miriam forced a smile, but it didn't hide her emotional pain in the least, as she told her father, "I'll manage, Clare's going to come around." Clare, Abby's daughter, and Miriam had been best friends since childhood, and through Ziva's illness, Clare had given Miriam much comfort. "You go, I'll call if there's a problem. Say hi to Uncle Jethro for me."

"Always. I'll be back before nine."

* * *

**9****th**** of July, 2023**

It had become a regular event since the births of the children that everyone would gather for a barbeque at one of their houses. That Sunday it had been Abby's turn to host the gathering.

Abby had changed a lot since the old days, being a mom changed her, she had kept elements of her gothic look, along with the personality. She still dyed her hair black, but it was usually styled a simple plait or bun, she still had her tattoos of course and she wore them with pride, but she would now dress more conservatively, black pants or jeans and a relatively plain top, especially if she was going to Clare's school, or taking her for a play date.

Gibbs as always went early to help Abby with the preparations and entertaining Abby and Tim's six year old daughter, Clare. He had always been protective of Abby, and when she lost her best friend and lover, the father of her child, Gibbs stepped up to help her through the trying time.

Gibbs was standing at the barbeque, turning the steaks when Tony and Ziva arrived with their kids in tow, and suddenly Gibbs found himself being tackled by three over energised children. "Uncle Jethro!"

Laughing, Gibbs crouched down to their level as he greeted each of the children. He had come a long way from the man he had been years ago, he still missed Shannon and Kelly, but he had allowed himself to find happiness with his colleagues and their children.

They sat down to eat the massive array of food at a large wooden outdoor setting, laughing and talking, having a good time, they weren't just colleagues anymore. They were a family.

* * *

**Present time**

The world didn't just stop because Ziva was sick, she kept working, raising her family, spending time with her friends.

Some days the treatments would make her so sick that she could barely get out of bed, but even then she kept going, at work Gibbs and Tony would force her to stay in the office if she was having a bad day, they would bring her drinks and make sure that she remembered to take her pills.

The kids were great about her illness, fourteen year old Susie really stepped up to take care of Miriam and Ben, make their lunches, walk Miriam to school before going to school herself, as well as doing a lot of the household chores, washing dishes, washing and ironing clothes, cleaning the house. It was essential that the house was thoroughly cleaned every week, the bathrooms every day, especially when Ziva's immune system was weakened by the chemotherapy, even a cold could be life threatening.

And on the frequent occasions when Ziva was hospitalized and Tony would stay at the hospital with her, Susie kept the household running in her parents absence.

* * *

After the stroke Tony, Ziva and Abby had been the ones who had been left with the task of finding a suitable nursing facility for their former boss and mentor.

It hadn't been an easy decision for them to put Gibbs into a nursing home, but he hadn't wanted to burden them, and quite frankly they all had enough on their plates.

After a week of searching they settled on Rock Creek Manor, a centre well known to have a very high standard of care. He deserved no less.

* * *

**25****th**** of September, 2039**

It still hurt DiNozzo to visit his ailing, eighty-three year old mentor. But despite his failing health, Gibbs still had a formidable presence, and while his body had failed him, his mind was as sharp as ever.

And with Ziva so ill, it helped Tony to go see Gibbs, and just talk.

Gibbs was sitting in a chair by his window when Tony arrived, and as he entered the room, Tony greeted Gibbs, "Hey boss, just me." Tony made his way over to another chair opposite Gibbs, before he asked, "How're you doing? They feeding you well?"

Gibbs laughed in mirth, before answering, "I'm doing as well as I can be, DiNozzo, nothing's changed." It didn't take a genius to know why Tony had been visiting so often in past months, but never discussing Ziva, and on that day, Gibbs finally brought it up, bluntly asking, "How long does Ziva have?"

Tony was surprised, but in retrospect he would wonder why, of course Gibbs had figured it out. He paused for some time, and he couldn't even bring himself to look Gibbs in the eye, instead staring out the window as he told him, "A week, maybe. She's very ill."

The confirmation of his suspicion upset Gibbs, of course he knew that Ziva had been suffering from cancer, but she had been working until just weeks before he suffered the stroke, and part of him had been denying that someone so strong and determined could be taken down by cancer, of everything that she had faced, cancer had come out of the right field and thrown everyone. "We knew it was coming."

"I know, Gibbs, but you haven't seen her." Tony ran his hand through his peppered grey hair. "She's so sick, she can't even get out of bed by herself, I have to dress her, help her take a shower, use the toilet, every time I find a food that she'll still eat, she gets less interested in eating, yesterday she only ate one bite of a piece of toast, plain toast, and that was it, and you know what's worse? That's the most she's eaten all week."

"How're the kids taking it? Abby?"

"Abby comes to visit a few times a week, Ben's come to visit a couple of times, but his study keeps him so busy, Susie has been here with Mikey more than she's been in New York, and of course Mira is around as much as she can be, she's at home now, sitting with Ziva."

"How're you taking it?"

"Fine," Tony replied automatically.

But Gibbs knew him better than to believe that. "You look like crap, DiNozzo. Quit lying, how are you doing?"

And that was it, the floodgates opened. Every emotion, every feeling that he had suppressed came to the surface, and Tony cried, he cried for Ziva, for his kids, for everything that he hadn't allowed himself to feel. Gibbs just kept his hand on Tony's knee as he cried, he knew that Tony just needed time, and he was going to give it.

**

* * *

****_To Be Continued..._**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has anything to do with NCIS or the characters, unless you count the DVDs. This is just for fun.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews!**_

_**I hope you enjoy this fic**_

* * *

Eventually Tony couldn't hold off on going home any longer, it wasn't fair on Miriam to expect her to stay there until he felt like coming home.

Now knowing how little time Ziva had left, Gibbs insisted that Tony come back the following weekend, and take him over to visit Ziva.

It had crushed Gibbs to see Ziva in that state, he still thought of her as the twenty-one year old Mossad agent who had killed her own brother to save him. It seemed like yesterday.

He had stayed at the DiNozzo family home until late in the evening, through most of his visit, Ziva was sleeping, she had stopped speaking several weeks earlier.

**

* * *

**

Present time

Miriam DiNozzo was one of those people who just took things in her stride, a rare trait in one so young. She sat on the couch near her mother, studying as her mother struggled for breath.

It wasn't that she was being cold, but this had been going on for three days, and she felt that holding her mother's hand was all she could really do.

Clare just sat beside Miriam, an arm wrapped around her in comfort.

Knowing that time was drawing close, that night Tony called his elder children, but neither could make it to DC, though they very much wanted to.

* * *

The day Ziva died, Tony, Miriam and Clare were there, they had been maintaining a vigil over Ziva for nearly a week, knowing that it wouldn't be long, but they had no idea how long she would hold on, it could be minutes or it could be days.

In the late afternoon, Tony could just tell that the girls needed a break, and he gently suggested, "How about you girls go check the letterbox, see if we have any mail."

Miriam and Clare knew what he was saying, and silently made their way outside.

While Miriam and Clare were outside, Tony leaned close to his wife, and lovingly running his hand through her hair, he whispered to her, "You can let go, Ziva. It's alright, you can let go."

Maybe Ziva heard him, because just minutes later Ziva's breathing worsened, it now only came in occasional gasps, it was horrible to watch.

They knew it would only be a matter of minutes now.

Clare was in tears, she had been close to her aunt, Tony couldn't allow Abby's daughter to witness Ziva's death. He left Ziva's side for a moment, and went to Clare. She stood as he reached her, hugging him. "It's time for you to go home, Clare. Please."

Clare just nodded shakily, but that was when the tears truly began to fall.

Tony couldn't leave the room, but Miriam did, she helped Clare outside, she only lived a few houses away, and she figured that she should be alright to walk home. Miriam was torn, she wanted to support her friend, but she wanted to be with her mother.

* * *

Ziva passed away just minutes after Clare left. And for some time after her death, the family was in shock, but they were also thinking of Clare, worrying as to whether she had gotten home alright. After making the funeral preparations, and notifying his other children, Tony called Abby, and gave her the news.

The memory of that day would haunt Clare for years, but she just had to replace her pain with all the wonderful memories she had of her aunt, of the time she had had with her.

* * *

Tony wasn't Jewish, but Ziva had been, and they had raised their children to believe in Judaism. And after Ziva's death Tony made certain that all Jewish customs for a death in the family were followed.

There was to be no autopsy, her cause of death was known, and there was no need to violate her body. Tony arranged for the funeral to be held the next day, to allow for Eli David to arrive from Israel, and Ben, Susanna and their families to arrive from New York.

The funeral was to be held graveside at the George Washington Cemetery, quite a long drive out of DC, but as a Jewish cemetery, the only choice. It was arranged to be held in the late afternoon.

* * *

Ben had been at class when he had received the call, his beloved mother had passed away, it had been all he could do not to cry out in the middle of the lecture. He had hurried out, and made his way straight over to Susie's apartment. It was time to be with family.

* * *

Susie was beside herself, as was young Mikey, Andrew did what he could to comfort them, but when his girlfriend's older brother arrived, Andrew stepped back, and gave the grieving family their space.

He called Ben's girlfriend, and let her know so that she could come be with her boyfriend, and then he booked them all on a flight to DC. He had no idea how he was going to pay the credit card bill, but that didn't matter.

* * *

The situation was much the same back at the DiNozzo residence in DC, friends had come around to show their support, but Tony only spoke to his daughter, comforting her in spite of his own heartache.

Even Abby and Clare stood back, respecting Tony and Miriam's need for space.

* * *

Eli David had been devastated when he arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport to the news that his daughter had passed before his arrival.

His flight had landed at five-thirty in the evening, just two hours after Ziva's death.

* * *

Susanna and Benjamin, along with their families arrived in DC just after seven o'clock.

They preceded without delay to the family home, where they joined their father and youngest sister in Aninut, the first stage of the traditional Jewish period of mourning.

* * *

The funeral was a sombre affair, as you would expect. Tony and the kids cried throughout the service, they didn't care about appearances, despite their knowledge that their wife and mother was dying, to have her actually be gone, they were heartbroken.

Tony couldn't bring himself to speak, but the kids did, they recited a Jewish prayer in Hebrew, before each giving a brief eulogy to honour their mother.

* * *

As the service drew to a close, once the coffin had been lowered into the ground, each mourner, starting with Tony and the kids went to the grave, and used a shovel to throw three shovelfuls of dirt onto the coffin.

Symbolically giving each mourner closure, seeing the grave being filled in.

After each person did so, they placed the shovel back on the ground, so as to avoid passing their grief onto the next person.

* * *

When Tony and the kids got home, Ben and Susie sat their father out on the deck with a bottle of whisky and a pack of cigarettes, a habit he'd given up when he joined NCIS, but he was heartbroken, and they weren't going to tell him what to do.

Ben, Susie and Miriam sat inside the house, observing Shiva, Ben and Susie's partners remained by their sides, comforting them, one of their family friends looked after Michael, making sure that he was alright. And though he was not Jewish, Tony also sat Shiva, in his own way.

* * *

Family and friends came around, people Ziva and the family had known within the Jewish community brought around food, sat with the family, though they didn't speak.

It was customary that while mourners were observing Shiva, conversation could only take place if the mourner initiated a conversation, and none of the children wanted to talk.

Abby and Clare were there, neither had truly stopped crying throughout the funeral service, and were still truly emotionally exhausted as they sat with Ben, Susie, and Miriam in silent comfort.

Ultimately Ziva had been suffering for years, and was in a better place, and that was what mattered, even if that meant everyone who had known her was grief stricken.

Time heals all wounds.

* * *

_**The End. Thank you for reading.**_


End file.
